‘View’ on top

Whoopi-led show tops Rosie's ratings

On her first day as moderator of “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg drew 3.4 million viewers, 1 million fewer than Rosie O’Donnell did on her first day in 2006, and the show looked to be in for a season of tough comparisons.

But after one week, the show under Whoopi was in a dead heat with the Rosie-led show of last year.

The second week into the season, “The View” was up 16% over last year, an unexpected turn for ABC daytime prexy Brian Frons, who predicted before the season began that Whoopi wouldn’t top Rosie.

After two weeks, “The View” under Goldberg is averaging 3.5 million total viewers, a 7% increase from 3.3 million under O’Donnell last season.

The first week, the two shows both averaged 3.4 million viewers. But in the second week, the Goldberg-led “View” started to pull away, with 3.6 million viewers compared with 3 million a year ago.

Show added 4% in total viewers in the second week, with the addition of Sherri Shepherd as co-host on Sept. 10, marking the first time in more than a year that the show had a permanent cast of five.

Both weeks contained 9/11 observances, so the numbers may not indicate an overall trend. But what seems clear is that it’s going to be a tight race between Whoopi this season and Rosie last year.

Numbers for O’Donnell started strong and leveled off after her boffo debut, but this year, the show is building week to week.

Shepherd’s first day was marked by a visit from Dr. Phil and a lengthy segment, “Bra Facts,” on how to achieve their proper fit. Guests over the course of the week included Susan Sarandon, Kenny Chesney and Michael Douglas.

Among women 18-49, the show delivered 972,000 during the week of Sept. 10, a 4% increase over last year.

The show hasn’t had a permanent cast of five since Star Jones ankled in 2006.